Category: Leadership
-
Fail Forward
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat.” These are the words from the former Naval Aviator and best selling author, Denis Waitley. Often times we all look at failure as the end of the road and when we fall down, we do not want to get back up again.…
-
What’s Real and What Isn’t
Colonel Robin Olds, a cavalier fighter pilot and commander during the Vietnam War, commanded a military installation and flew a F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft. He often found himself at odds with policies during his time in Vietnam; Washington had implemented what was called the ‘Rapid Roger’ program for generating F-4 missions[1]. The program had been…
-
Why Do We Need to Develop Professionally?
Have you ever played with a child? I have eleven nieces and nephews and two children of my own and each of them is very different. However, they all liked to play peek-a-boo when they were tiny tots. I could have hidden behind those hands and then suddenly revealed myself for hours with a giggle…
-
Leaders Set the Tone
“Come on, we have to get this done to get the boss off of my back!” We have all experienced this scenario in our careers at one point. Maybe we were even the person saying this. Upon hearing our leader say something like this, we get an instant sense of stress. This does not help…
-
Management vs Leadership
“Airmen have inherited an Air Force forged through the ingenuity, courage, and strength of Airmen who preceded them.” This excerpt from the Air Force Leadership Doctrine Volume II sums up the importance of what we do as leaders and mentors. It is up to us to take the knowledge and wisdom provided to us, make…
-
Don’t Hate the New Guy
Ever get stuck working with the new guy? All they do is ask questions and on top of that, they need to be told how to do everything! What good are they? Sound familiar? You are potentially ignoring one of your most precious assets. First off, I want to address the questions and training portion. If you…
-
The Buy In
During the NBA playoffs I watch as all the teams have their own mantra for success, one that stands out to me is the Cleveland Cavaliers mantra “All In” the mantra is indicative of the players and coaches idea to be a collective unit striving for one goal. That sounds great, but how is that…
-
Love ‘em Hard
“Love ‘em hard son” There’s something you don’t hear every day. On a stretch of interstate 95 northbound and somewhere just inside of Virginia, I was offered this odd sounding nugget of wisdom. To be clear…I’m a maintainer, and I like maintainer things. I was raised a maintainer, taught to think and act like a…
-
A leader’s credible reputation
Read any number of books on leadership and you are guaranteed to run into a segment discussing the importance of leadership credibility. There are a number of ways suggested that the leader attain credibility in the eyes of his or her subordinates. That credibility is crucial in gaining more than just compliance from your subordinates. …
-
Culture Drives Values
All Airmen are taught the core values and continue to have them infused each and every day. What is sometimes forgotten is how the culture of an organization can impact our values. On a routine basis, I sit with the pipeline Airmen that train at our schoolhouse. These students are only a month or so…
deliberatedevelopment.org 